by Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com
The Cleveland Cavaliers (40-25) visit the Orlando Magic (35-28) tonight at Kia Center on ESPN. This is the third of four matchups between the teams. Cleveland won the first two meetings by double digits — 119-105 at Orlando on Jan. 24 and 114-98 at home two nights later on Jan. 25. The teams will meet for a final time in the regular season on March 24 in Cleveland.
The Cavs have won five of the last six against the Magic dating back to May 2024 when Cleveland knocked off Orlando in Game 7 of their first-round series.
Cleveland is a 3.5-point favorite and 226.5.
WHAT BOTH TEAMS DID IN THEIR LAST GAME
Cleveland knocked off the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers 115-101 at home on Monday night. The 76ers were missing their top four scorers in Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, suspended veteran Paul George and star rookie VJ Edgecombe. The Cavs built a 12-point lead at halftime (56-44) and cruised to a victory against the 76ers.
James Harden scored a game-high 21 points (6-11 FG, 3-8 3Pt, 6-6 FT) and added 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 block across 29 minutes. With those 21 points, James Harden became the ninth player in NBA history to score 29,000 career points. Keon Ellis registered 19 points (5-9 FG, 4-7 3Pt, 5-7 FT) in 26 minutes off the bench. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell notched 17 points (4-11 FG, 9-9 FT) and 6 assists in 31 minutes.
Orlando mauled Milwaukee 130-91 on the road on Sunday. Orlando never trailed in the game. After leading 67-55 at the half, the Magic broke open the game in the third quarter, outscoring the Bucks 33-15 to take a 30-point lead (100-70) into the fourth quarter. It was Orlando’s second straight blowout road win. They hammered Minnesota 119-92 one night earlier.
Paolo Banchero poured in a game-high 33 points (12-16 FG, 3-6 3Pt, 6-9 FT) in 29 minutes. Jalen Suggs added 20 points (7-9 FG, 3-3 3Pt, 3-3 FT) and 2 steals across 24 minutes, while Desmond Bane compiled 18 points (6-12 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 5-5 FT), 9 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals in 30 minutes. Orlando has won 4 straight games.
GAME STORYLINES: CLEVELAND
Last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers completed one of the best regular seasons in franchise history finishing 64-18. Cleveland’s 64-wins was the second-most (the 2008-09 Cavs finished 66-16) in franchise history, and their most wins in a season without LeBron James. Unfortunately, the Cavs’ season ended in a whimper as they were ousted by the fourth-seeded Indiana Pacers in just 5 games (4-1) in the Eastern Conference semi-finals (2nd round).
Cleveland’s unexpected second-round exit in the 2025 playoffs seemed to carry over to this season as they looked lethargic through the first half of the season. Cleveland sat at just 17-16 on Dec. 20, and they suffered their 18th loss of the season on Jan. 8. The Cavs lost a total of 18 games last season.
The Cavaliers appeared to be resembling last year’s form after winning 7 of 8 games in late January and improving to 29-20. Despite the turnaround, Cleveland pulled off a blockbuster deal at the trade deadline when they acquired 36-year-old, 11-time All-Star James Harden from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for two-time All-Star Darius Garland and a second-round pick.
The addition of James Harden gives Cleveland a bona fide superstar to pair with All-NBA guard Donovan Mitchell, who is currently averaging a career-high 28.4 points, 5.8 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 3.4 threes on 48.2 percent from the floor in 57 games this season. A dependable second scorer/playmaker outside of Mitchell had become a glaring issue for the Cavs in their playoff exits over the last 3 seasons.
Despite his advanced NBA age (36), James Harden is still playing at an All-Star level in his 17th NBA season. Harden was averaging 25.4 points and 8.1 assists per contest in 44 games with the Clippers. He’s averaging 19.3 points, 7.8 assists, 5 rebounds and 2.9 threes in 11 games with the Cavaliers.
Cleveland suffered a literal bad break when James Harden fractured his right thumb in a win against New York on Feb. 24. The injury occurred to his non-shooting hand and doctors determined he could play through it, which he has done. But this may become an issue going forward as a somewhat limited Harden could doom the Cavs if they advance in the playoffs and play stronger teams.
GAME STORYLINES: ORLANDO
Two years ago, the Orlando Magic were the surprise of the NBA when they finished with a 47-35 record and earned the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The young Magic squad pushed the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers to the limit before falling in Game 7 at Cleveland. Orlando’s 47 wins in 2024 was their highest win total since the 2010-11 season. The young trio of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs were the catalyst for Orlando’s tremendous success in 2024.
Unfortunately, a litany of injuries has plagued the young trio of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs since the breakout 2023-24 season. The trio was durable during the 2023-24 season as Banchero played in 80 games, Wagner played in 72 and Suggs played in 75. Last season, Banchero played in only 46 games (torn right oblique), Wagner played in 60 (torn oblique) and Suggs played in only 35 games (left knee). Orlando still scrapped their way to a 41-41 record last year, but were eliminated by Boston 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs.
The injury bug returned for a second straight season this year for Orlando’s young trio. Franz Wagner (21.3 ppg, 5.8 rebs, 1.1 stls, 1.5 threes, 47.9% from 2 in 28 gms) has missed 35 games due to a lingering left ankle sprain. He’s been out since Feb. 11 and there is no definitive timetable for his return. Jalen Suggs (13.8 ppg, 5.3 asts, 1.9 stls. 2 threes in 40 gms) has missed 25 games due to chronic back problems. Paolo Banchero (22.2 ppg, 8.6 rebs, 5 asts, 1.2 threes, 46.5% from 2 in 53 gms) missed 10 games with a left groin strain in December.
Prior to this season in June, the Orlando Magic made a big splash when they pulled off a blockbuster trade for Memphis Grizzlies star guard Desmond Bane. Orlando gave up a package that included four first-round picks (2025, 2026, 2028 and 2030) to land Bane. The 27-year-old Bane established himself as a reliable scorer and excellent three-point shooter over the previous four seasons with the Grizzlies. He is a career 40 percent three-point shooter.
Desmond Bane (20.4 ppg, 4.2 rebs, 4.2 asts, 2 threes, 38.7% from 3 in 63 gms) has maintained his terrific scoring and sharpshooting in his first season with Orlando. He’ll likely average at least 20 ppg and at shoot 38 percent from long distance for a third time in his 6 NBA seasons.
If Orlando can ever get their entire team intact, they’ll likely be among the elite teams in the NBA.
THE PICK: MAGIC (+3.5)
Orlando has won a season-high 4 games in a row. And I think they come out and give an inspired effort at home against Cleveland in front of a nationally televised audience tonight. Take the Points and the Magic!